Hi everyone!
I began my internship at Event and Conference
Co in March, with very little idea of what to expect. Having worked as a nanny
since I finished school, sitting at a desk for eight hours a day was a concept
I was most certainly not familiar with and had wanted to avoid for as long as
possible. What do I do for lunch? Do I eat at my desk? Do I have to spend my whole day sitting at my computer? What
if I get bored?
In addition to this, I wasn’t 100% sure that
a career in events was something that I wanted to pursue. Throughout my university
life, I had perceived the events side of PR as strenuous planning and a lot of
work- something in which my inner lazy-self was not prepared for. I had always
envisioned myself pursuing a career in the corporate sector, writing media
releases and managing stakeholder relations for a resource company or something
like that.
Like most people, as my first day approached
I quickly became a bundle of nervous energy, doubting my abilities and worried
about what everyone would think of me. Thankfully, all my anxiousness
disappeared within the first few hours of my first day. Event and Conference Co
has two staff members that work in the office on a full-time basis. Generally,
everyone else working in the office on a regular basis is also completing an
internship- whether it be for uni or their own work experience. I got lucky, in
that not only is everyone extremely welcoming and understanding of each other-
we’re all interns and we’re all learning- the vast majority of those completing
internships are also from Curtin!
In my first few days at ECC, I would try to
spend my whole day working on only one or two tasks; partly because I wanted to
make sure I got them right, and also partly because I was sure I had no idea
what I was doing (what is a risk assessment plan???). Thankfully, I’m no longer afraid to ask for help or clarification when I get given a task.
I really feel like everyone’s patience and support has helped me improve my
skill set as a budding PR practitioner- I’m a lot more confident in my
abilities and am eager to try new things.
I’m still not sure whether I would want to pursue
a career in events after I’ve graduated, but I definitely have a greater
appreciation and admiration now for what goes on behind the scenes, and just
how hard people have to work to get everything perfect.
I guess we will just have to wait and see!
Bye for now,
Clare
